Nexus 5 and Key Lime Pie would be best served in the fall

Now that the keynote from Google I/O is a day behind us, the next couple of days of Google I/O are primarily directed at developers. While I’m not saying it’s impossible for us to see the release of Key Lime Pie, a new Nexus, or a Motorola X phone, I am saying that I’m about 99.8% sure it’s not going to happen. And honestly, I’m completely okay with that.

I like the direction that Google took I/O this year. We sat around and talked about what we wanted to see from a new Nexus, or what we thought Key Lime Pie would taste like, or even if we would ever see the rumored Motorola X phone. Obviously we haven’t seen any of these things and for many that serves as one heaping helping of pure disappointment – but for me, I feel like when it comes to a new Nexus and Key Lime Pie they would be better released as a pair in the fall.

We’ve had a pretty big amount of excitement these past few months. We’ve had the release of the Galaxy S 4, the HTC One, the Sony Xperia Z, and plenty of other high end Android devices. I feel like when it comes to Android it’s time to take a breather - hone on what we already have. While an updated Nexus 4 would have been nice, I still feel like it would be too soon seeing as the Nexus 4 itself isn’t really that old, and as I’ve stated before – sometimes when you buy a mind-blowingly amazing new phone you just want to get a chance to enjoy it before the mobile industry rips that away from you by releasing something else mind-blowingly amazing the very next week – it’s even worse when it comes from the same company. Waiting until the fall to release any new version of the Nexus, in my opinion, is the best thing to do. Nexus phones are sacred devices and you have to treat them as such; none of this "releasing a new version of the same phone every few months" mumbo jumbo.

When it comes to releasing a new version of Android, I have to keep myself reserved. Having been away from Android for such a long period of time until recently owning a Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, I haven’t really been using Android enough to think that we should have a new software version released. The Galaxy Note 8.0 only runs on Android 4.1.2, and while there are some things that I’m sure a simple update could fix I’ve actually really enjoyed my experience on Android’s Jelly Bean. I think a lot of people would be content with an Android 4.3 release, but when it comes to the rumored Key Lime Pie (5.0) I feel like it would be served best if released successively with a Nexus 5 sometime later in the year. But those who have been using Android much longer than I have may beg to differ.

Aside from the non-release of many anticipated software versions and/or devices, I feel like I was probably one of the few who were actually interested in the changes Google was making to some of its services. At times the keynote was a total snoozefest, but overall I found the information to be rather interesting. Google didn’t have a great dedicated music app, but Google Play Music All Access might be able to change that for them. Google also had so many different ways to talk to each other in separate applications that it only made sense to place them in one unified cross-platform (if you can really call it that) application. Add in SMS and include BlackBerry and Windows Phone into the mix and you have yourself a nicely done cross-platform messaging service. And although the price of the stock Galaxy S 4 might turn people away, it still serves as a possible stepping stone for more flagship phones to come shipped with stock Google as well (Stock HTC One? Yes please!)

I think, in the end, maybe we expected too much. I watched the keynote expecting to see all of the rumors that were planted in our head, yet none of them showed. I actually eneded up surprised, and that hardly ever happens in this industry anymore; it was kind of nice. By waiting until a later date to release Key Lime Pie and a new Nexus they’re giving the current Nexus 4 owners more time to value their device, and honing Key Lime Pie to hopefully be the best software update that we’ve seen from Android yet. Patience is a virtue, right?

Readers, how do you feel about Google I/O so far? Did you feel let down when you didn’t see Key Lime Pie or a new Nexus? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

PHONEDOG

PhoneDog Media is home to PhoneDog, Android & Me, TmoNews, and TodaysiPhone. The network receives 2.5 million unique visitors and 10 million pageviews each month, along with a combined three million video views on YouTube.

While the name is jovial, the PhoneDog Media network offers up a wealth of written and video content to help readers make important decisions about mobile technology.

Established in 2001, PhoneDog Media is a privately owned and operated company.